Confessions of a Mommy

While watching Oprah yesterday, I remembered what the point of this blog was supposed to be originally - to share my experiences, both good and bad, with the other mommies of the world (or just my circle of friends). I've gotten away from that and - lucky you - now we're going back. The idea of The Mommy Diaries is to have something that every mommy can relate to. As my mind swirled around all of the things that I haven't yet shared, I was energized and enthused to start The Mommy Diaries anew. So here we are: The Mommy Diaries, 2.0.


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As a working mother, I think I feel like I have to do it all. I have to be a full time gourmet chef, a part time maid, an expert at every school subject for my (non-paying) job position as my daughter's Kindergarten tutor, a chauffeur, a personal family banker, a dry cleaner, as well as alternating shifts as a librarian, personal assistant, party planner, travel agent... not to mention boo-boo kisser.

I want to express to you that no one does it all. No one. You know your friend that always looks great and her house is clean and her children are well-behaved? Not even her. Seriously. Ask her. I feel like from the outside it seems like I have a descent handle on things. But I don't.

* More often times than not (especially in the winter) I look down at my 6-year-old and wonder "when was the last time you had a bath?" And sometimes it's Thursday night. And the last bath I can remember was on Sunday.

* I have done my daughters homework because I forgot to have her do it.

* I know that putting dirty jeans in the dryer with a fabric sheet "freshens" them.

* I bribe my children. If my toddler is crying in the middle of the store, I will grab a box of raisins off of the shelf, rip them open and hand them to him if it means 10 more minutes of shopping.

* I have been out of wipes and used a wet paper towel.

* Some days, out of sheer exhaustion, I let my kids eat whatever they want for dinner. "Can I have a pudding cup?" Yep. "Mommy, I want fruit snacks." You betcha.

* I have used my 6-year-old to do things I'm feeling too lazy to do. "Honey, will you go upstairs and ask daddy what he wants for dinner?"... "He wants lasagna."... "Tell him that mommy can't make lasagna tonight. I'm out of noodles."... "What?"... "Just tell him that - he'll understand."

* I made my children sit up in their bedroom and play while my husband and I had Valentine's dinner. We had steak and shrimp. They had chicken nuggets.

Now weather you rolled your eyes and thought "what a terrible mother" or "oh my gosh - I've done that" as you read down the list, the fact is that we've all done things that probably would take us out of contention for any trophies related to our mothering career. It's a hard damn job and those little ankle biters did not come with an owners manual. And that's ok - it's trial and error for the most part.

This mommy knows that she's not the best mommy in the world. But she also knows she's not the worst - And neither are you, no matter how many times you run out of diapers and use a maxi pad instead (that one actually DOESN'T come from this mommy's personal experience).